Contraceptive app for women — a UX case study
For my first UX project I designed Plus: An app that helps women choose the birth control method that fits them.
The Hunch
I’m a 28-year-old American woman. Four years ago, I started working in family planning/reproductive health (FP/RH) for an international development nonprofit. Prior to working here, I had an average amount of knowledge about contraceptive methods which is to say, I knew condoms should always be used, there were other “barrier” methods that were not very popular anymore (diaphragm, female condom, sponge), and beyond that there was the pill and the IUD.
After working in FP/RH for a few years, my awareness of contraception had grown significantly as did my discussions about these topics with friends. I began noticing a trend: not many women knew about all their contraceptive options and they were often learning what they did know through peers or online, which are not the most reliable sources. Further, conversations with doctors about their options were often hurried and not comprehensive of all available methods. I assumed most women, like myself, felt uninformed, unempowered, and confused as they waded through the murky waters of contraceptive choice.
The Interview Findings
To test the validity of my assumptions, I conducted a dozen interviews with American women ranging in age from 24–35. These were my main findings:
- Women only received information on one, two, or three contraceptive methods from their doctors
- None of the women I interviewed knew about all contraceptive methods available to them
- Some of the women said they wouldn’t like to have all of the methods laid out for them since it would be time consuming and unnecessary
- Some women said they’d prefer to do research on their own time, while others said they’d prefer to simply speak to a doctor
- Visual aids are very important when women are researching contraception
- The most common way to find answers to questions regarding contraception is to go online and sift through dozens of online forums and websites
- Efficacy, cost, and ease of use were the three top concerns in choosing a contraceptive method
The Problem
My analysis of the interviews proved that my hunch was correct and there were several problems American women faced when trying to find reliable information on which method(s) they should choose. These problems included:
- Many women are frequently frustrated with the lack of information they receive from their OB/GYN about their birth control options.
- Women have little knowledge about what their insurance covers which is an important cost factor.
- Many women choose their method of contraception based on what friends or family are using without necessarily knowing what fits their lifestyles and/or body best.
The Solution
To address these three problems, I decided to design an app. Ideally, my app would have had all of the following features:
I decided to design an app instead of a website because the quiz (which is better executed on a phone or tablet) is a central component to the product. I also wanted the app to be as portable as possible so that women could take their findings into a doctor’s appointment and use them as a starting point for further discussion about their options with their doctor.
The Competition
To make sure I wasn’t duplicating efforts, I conducted a competitive analysis.
These apps and websites had great concepts that I also wanted to include in my app, but none completely addressed all the issues I was trying to solve. Specifically, each of these platforms lacked at least one of the following:
- Personalization
- Ability to build a profile or save information
- Insurance information
- A social community
- Accessible and user-friendly tone
- Free of cost
The MVP
Because I was trying to solve such a multifaceted issue, I needed to make sure my ideas were reined in before they spiraled into something too big to execute. I defined my most viable product (MVP) as an app that included the following characteristics but not much else:
- Targeted for women
- Thorough information on each method
- Quiz to find which method fits best
- Connect personalized insurance information
- Ability to like/save methods
- Lighthearted, comfortable tone
The Target
Defining my target audience was one of the most challenging aspects of this UX design. I had interviewed many women and heard lots of opinions but I still wasn’t confident who exactly who my target user was.
To solve this puzzle, I wrote down observations from my interviews on sticky notes and then grouped those observations into common emerging themes. After reviewing these themes, I chose two of the largest topics of conversation that had emerged in my interviews.
From here, I was able to create a persona matrix. Knowing it would be too challenging to focus on all of these possible target audiences, I chose to focus on one: the All Bases Covered Girl.
I put together a quick persona of the “All Bases Cover Girl” to give myself a touchstone when developing my app.
The Informational Architecture
The first step in designing the IA was thinking through what a typical “All Bases Covered Girl’s” user flow would be. Detailing the user flow directly influenced the draft site map as I brainstormed the numerous different ways women could engage with this app.
The Prototype
Starting with marker and paper, I sketched a crude mockup of the prototype.
Once the sketches were ready to go, I launched Sketch and began designing the wireframes (as a graphic designer, this was my favorite part).
After loading these into InVision to make the app interactive, I began my user testing by asking women to play around with the app and provide feedback. Here were the key issues women had when interacting with the app:
- Didn’t see “Sort”
- Font too small
- Wanted a better way to connect to insurance
- Wanted a home button
- Didn’t like the Search page
- Wanted an animation when liking a method
- Onboarding could be helpful
- Where is this information/data coming from?
- Didn’t understand the name of the app
The Revised Prototype
Incorporating the users’ feedback, I set about revising the wireframes to provide a better, easier, more engaging user experience for the target audience. Here were some of the revisions I made:
Future Directions
Plus remains in its design stage as it doesn’t currently have development funding. However, should it ever have the opportunity to become a functioning app, there are a few final areas that would need further research and design:
Add more information to the login about how this is a complimentary app to talking to your doctor. I would like to be able to better integrate messaging about how the information on this app should complement a conversation with your doctor.
Flesh out the insurance process. This component of the app remains the least developed and likely the most unrealistic. I’m curious to see if there are databases available for purchase or use that would have this information, but I imagine it would be hard to gain access to that information. Providing an average cost for each method would remain a good makeshift solution.
Partner with other apps. There are many women’s health apps that could have some creative partnership strategies for Plus — such as period trackers, contraceptives like Natural Cycles, and Bedsider.
This app was developed as part of a part-time User Experience Design course at General Assembly in Washington, DC. All the information on contraceptive methods used in these prototypes was taken from Bedsider.
